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Pentecost Season · Proper 18 · Year C

Jeremiah 18:1-11

The Potter and the Clay

September 10, 2028

Potter Engaged in Throwing a Pot on a Wheel, Arthur William Devis
Potter Engaged in Throwing a Pot on a Wheel, Arthur William Devis, 1792British Library, London
A potter cross-legged at the wheel in the shade of his workshop, with the finished pots and the failed ones piled round him on the floor.Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? Like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.Arthur William DevisDevis, who painted the trades of Bengal from life while he was working in Calcutta.British Library, LondonThe British Library, London.British Library, London
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelLuke 14:25-33Lk 14:25-33
EpistlePhlm. 1:1-21Phlm 1:1-21
Old TestamentJer. 18:1-11Jer 18:1-11Alt. OTDeut. 30:15-20Dt 30:15-20
PsalterPs. 139:1-6, 13-18Ps 139:1-6, 13-18Alt. PsalmPs. 1Ps 1

Overview & Insights

"Like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel." (Jeremiah 18:6)

God sends Jeremiah to a potter's house to watch him rework a spoiled vessel into another pot as it seemed good to him. The image becomes a warning: God can rework or reshape a nation's future depending on whether it turns from evil.

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Commentary

Commentary on Jeremiah 18:1-11Commentary on Jer 18:1-11 Working Preacher

Reads the potter's house as a place to learn God's way with Israel by watching an artist at work.

Jeremiah 18:1-11 CommentaryJer 18:1-11 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Draws out the possibility of starting over that the reworked vessel represents.

Jeremiah 18 Bible CommentaryJer 18 Bible Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse-by-verse notes on the lessons of the potter's house.

Jeremiah 18:1 CommentariesJer 18:1 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentary on the opening of the potter sign-act.

Jeremiah 18 (Barnes' Notes)Jer 18 (Barnes' Notes) StudyLight

Detailed verse notes on the potter and clay imagery.

Jeremiah 18:1 InterlinearJer 18:1 Interlinear BibleHub

Shows the underlying Hebrew of the potter's-house sign-act.

Background & Word Study

Book of Jeremiah OverviewBook of Jer Overview BibleProject

Traces the literary design of Jeremiah, including its sign-acts.

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